Last week was The Perfect Punch week on the Pink Paislee blog. I am kind of a “basics” sort of gal when it comes to punches. I don’t have a lot of fancy shapes (I leave those for the die cut machines) but I do have a fair amount of border punches and simple circles and squares.

The perfect punch can be perfect for more than one reason: perfect because you adore the shape, perfect because it just happens to be the right size, or perfect because you reach for it over and over despite it being ordinary.

Today my perfect punch is the last of these reasons. It’s really just a plain square punch but if you look “outside of the box” you’ll see you can create a lot more with it. Windows. Triangles. Diamonds. Or… chevron!

The green and teal chevron shapes on my page are made from punched squares. I punched the squares and cut them diagonally into two triangles.

Then all you have to do is stagger the triangles to create the zig zag shape. I stitched over mine to reinforce the design.

This is a really simple way to use your square punches for something more than, well, squares! No measuring required.

I used all sorts of Pink Paislee goodies on this page. There are some Woodshop alphas and the darker teal letter stickers are some of the first ever… and still just as great today! I cut the layers of the raised heart from some Spring Jubilee packaging.

And I reinforced my “song” title with a little bird and the music note chipboard from Spring Jubilee. I love that I was able to take elements and colors from this line and make a boy page.

Check out the rest of The Perfect Punch week on the Pink Paislee blog for more fun ideas.

You may have noticed a bit of a recent absence here on my blog. I have good reason, I promise!

I am thrilled to announce the arrival of Little Miss Lily Sophia, weighing in at 8 lbs., 4 ozs and measuring 20.25 inches with a full head of dark hair. She made her debut on July 19th at 10:15pm.

So far ::knock on wood:: she is about, ohhh… a million times easier than her brother was as an infant. Compared to Owen’s alertness and reflux she is the easiest baby ever. It’s early yet and we are waiting for the other shoe to drop but we’ll take it while we can get it!!

So projects will be slower to appear for a while but I am amassing photos in the mean time!

Last week there was yet another heat wave in humid New England... and this layout was my only breath of fresh air. With cool sea blues and bold vintage reds the Fresh line from Authentique will have you dreaming of cool ocean breezes and sipping daiquiris.

I used the Right at Home Scrapbooking July double layout sketch for this one: You can see that I stuck pretty close to the sketch. Double pagers intimidate me! I found the sketch made it so much more fun.

I replaced the star elements up the left side with a whole bunch of small stickers from this line's coordinating sheet. They really packed the images on there! I popped some of the stickers with foam tape for dimension. The vintage bathing beauty was from the postcard patterned paper.

I also added a touch of glitter for glamour on this page. I outlined the cream lines on the scalloped shells with a super fine glue pen and sprinkled clear glitter. The outcome was subtle (and hard to see in the photos) but adds the perfect look of sand/sparkle.

Authentique really nailed this beach line. It has the perfect summer vibe! Thanks for taking a peek at my Fresh page!

Remember a few year ago when Pink Paislee showcased their artisan products and BLEW UP the scrap world with creative possibilities?? And then a little later with the Mistables? Yeah. Me too. And it was a goooooood time.

Well, guess what? They gave us an encore! And if it is even possible I think part two is even better. There are so many fun things to alter and tailor to your projects it will make a hoarder out of you. And the papers are sooooo cool… graphic and modern.

I got a chance to play with the new Artisan collection and made this little mini:

The cover of this album is covered in a fine layer of fabric and it takes mist like a dream. The inner pages are 4” x 8” pieces of the beautiful paper, glued back to back, and edged with border cut strips.

The Artisan Words are perfect for adding to nearly anything. They are flexible and would work on pages, cards, or even 3D projects. My favorite way to make them pop is to trace over the slightly raised area with a Sharpie… I had to go out and buy more colors today!

There are also chipboard stars, hearts, arrows, and butterflies as well as muslin trims (love!) and flowers and photo corners and… well, you get the idea! Check out all the products in the Artisan Collection here and here! And enter to win some while you’re there!

This collection is RIPE with possibilities. I dare you to not get inspired!

I, like many scrappers, am super selective when it comes to holiday collections. I only have so many pictures to scrap and I want to make sure the papers suit my style. I have to love them. Good thing Pink Paislee has done it again with their upcoming City Sidewalks line! This is a must have!

I had the pleasure of already getting to create with some of this collection for the upcoming CHA show next week. Gotta love a little Christmas in July!

There are SO many embellishments to drool over. To see more examples and images of the collection in detail check out the Pink Paislee blog. Don’t forget to leave a comment to win it before you can buy it!

Time for Spring from Fancy Pants does have lots of great spring motifs. But it goes far beyond April showers and May flowers and works beautifully for your bright summer photos too!

Here are a couple of goodies I whipped up using this fresh line:

Sprinkler Sweet

Sweet banners, floral die cuts, and how awesome is that giant frame?

And here’s a card I did up with some of the awesome hexagon paper:

Bee Happy Card

I’m sure you’ll see more from me with Time for Spring as well as the FOUR new lines debuting at CHA summer in Chicago this month. It’s Fancy Pants doing exactly what they do best… blowing us out of the water with gorgeous new paper and embellishments!

Happy 4th, everyone! While my post today is not Independence Day themed it does have plenty of red, white, and blue goodness! Right at Home Scrapbooking sent me Authentique's Fresh collection and this inexpensive frame to create some summer home decor:

I covered the edges of the frame in 1/2" strips of paper and added painted wood buttons to the corners to hide the seams.

If you completely remove the cardboard mats and the glass from the frame it gives you enough room to add layers and dimension like I did. I actually used some of the cardboard to back the photo mat instead of using foam tape or pop dots. It saves time and supplies!

I love all the small stickers included on the Fresh collection sticker sheet. They really make it easy to layer and add detail. I chose to put my title up the side of my photo and accordion folded a half circle for under one of the slightly larger stickers. I used a bit of twine on there too, under the cute popped up tickets.

And I got a little fancy with the red burlap trim! This is called a Carrick Bend... and don't ask me to tie another one. :-P